Fund for Jason Blake
Donation protected
This is Jason Blake. This little boy and his twin sister Emma just turned three years old this month. He is fun and playful and keeps his parents busy but things have not been easy for him at all.
Jason has already had 3 heart surgeries in his short life. He was born with a condition called hypoplastic right heart. This a condition where parts of the heart ( the right atrium and right ventricle are undeveloped) and because of this not enough blood gets to the lungs and the baby if left untreated will have very dangerously low oxygen levels.
He had his first surgery called a BT shunt when he was just a few months old ( a tube is put into the heart to increase blood flow to the lungs).
He had a second operation ( a Glenn procedure) at 8 months of age but during this surgery there were complications and part of his heart ( the right atrium) was torn. As a result he had 7 minutes with no blood flow to his brain and he had suffered brain damage and seizures. He had to be put on bypass (echmo) and his left laryngeal nerve was damaged resulting in paralysis of his left vocal cord as well.
Jason had to have a nasogastric tube put in ( a tube from the nose to stomach) for his nutrition needs and medication. This is usually a short term solution before a g- tube ( tube to stomach) is done but due to long wait times he had to have the nasogastric tube for 6 months.
Due to the resulting side effects Jason had to do intense physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He had lost most of his voluntary muscle strength and coordination. He had to learn how to lift his head and turn his body.
His third surgery was just days before his and his twin sister’s third birthday and is called a Fontan procedure. This is an open heart surgery that allows blood with no oxygen flow to get to the lungs while the ventricle pumps blood with oxygen to the body.
Unfortunately this little fighter has had post operative issues. He developed chylothorax ( lymphatic fluid leaks into the space between the lung and the chest wall) , MRSA septicemia ( blood infection) and bilateral lung empyemas ( infection within the lung cavity) . Jason will be in hospital for many weeks to come trying to recover.
This is all while his parents Amy and Andrew are still caring for his twin sister Emma. There is no doubt how frightening and exhausting this must be for this family.
Amy is a health care worker in Ingersoll, Ontario and while she is dealing with her son’s battles she is also still having to work to provide for the family and deal with covid-19.
Amy and her family live in St Thomas, Ontario and she commutes to Ingersoll for work. She then commutes 2.5 hours to Sick kids hospital in Toronto to be with her son. An aunt looks after Emma and she often stays with her for extended periods of time as daycare does not always work with Amy’s schedule.
This family needs our help. As a friend, fellow twin mom myself and organizer of this page I feel Amy's story needs to be shared. Financial support would allow Amy the ability to work less , spend less time commuting as well as help with any other financial burdens.
This mom needs to be at the bedside of her young son who is only three years old. This little guy has a long road ahead of him. He needs his mom with him.
Please consider donating if you can. No donation is too small and your support is appreciated more than you will ever know.
Whether you are or aren’t able to contribute financially I hope you will consider sharing this on your social media pages.
Thank you so very much for reading and sharing this and for all your support.
Jason has already had 3 heart surgeries in his short life. He was born with a condition called hypoplastic right heart. This a condition where parts of the heart ( the right atrium and right ventricle are undeveloped) and because of this not enough blood gets to the lungs and the baby if left untreated will have very dangerously low oxygen levels.
He had his first surgery called a BT shunt when he was just a few months old ( a tube is put into the heart to increase blood flow to the lungs).
He had a second operation ( a Glenn procedure) at 8 months of age but during this surgery there were complications and part of his heart ( the right atrium) was torn. As a result he had 7 minutes with no blood flow to his brain and he had suffered brain damage and seizures. He had to be put on bypass (echmo) and his left laryngeal nerve was damaged resulting in paralysis of his left vocal cord as well.
Jason had to have a nasogastric tube put in ( a tube from the nose to stomach) for his nutrition needs and medication. This is usually a short term solution before a g- tube ( tube to stomach) is done but due to long wait times he had to have the nasogastric tube for 6 months.
Due to the resulting side effects Jason had to do intense physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He had lost most of his voluntary muscle strength and coordination. He had to learn how to lift his head and turn his body.
His third surgery was just days before his and his twin sister’s third birthday and is called a Fontan procedure. This is an open heart surgery that allows blood with no oxygen flow to get to the lungs while the ventricle pumps blood with oxygen to the body.
Unfortunately this little fighter has had post operative issues. He developed chylothorax ( lymphatic fluid leaks into the space between the lung and the chest wall) , MRSA septicemia ( blood infection) and bilateral lung empyemas ( infection within the lung cavity) . Jason will be in hospital for many weeks to come trying to recover.
This is all while his parents Amy and Andrew are still caring for his twin sister Emma. There is no doubt how frightening and exhausting this must be for this family.
Amy is a health care worker in Ingersoll, Ontario and while she is dealing with her son’s battles she is also still having to work to provide for the family and deal with covid-19.
Amy and her family live in St Thomas, Ontario and she commutes to Ingersoll for work. She then commutes 2.5 hours to Sick kids hospital in Toronto to be with her son. An aunt looks after Emma and she often stays with her for extended periods of time as daycare does not always work with Amy’s schedule.
This family needs our help. As a friend, fellow twin mom myself and organizer of this page I feel Amy's story needs to be shared. Financial support would allow Amy the ability to work less , spend less time commuting as well as help with any other financial burdens.
This mom needs to be at the bedside of her young son who is only three years old. This little guy has a long road ahead of him. He needs his mom with him.
Please consider donating if you can. No donation is too small and your support is appreciated more than you will ever know.
Whether you are or aren’t able to contribute financially I hope you will consider sharing this on your social media pages.
Thank you so very much for reading and sharing this and for all your support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Penny Gujral
Organizer
Winnipeg, MB
Amy Blake
Beneficiary
